Moroto-Nakapiripirit Road develops cracks
Condition. Residents of Nandunget in Moroto District walk along the cracked Moroto-Nakapiripirit Road on Monday. PHOTO BY STEVEN ARIONG. PHOTO BY TAUSI NAKATO
What you need to know:
- Mr Francis Kiyonga, the LC5 chairperson Amudat District, said the government should work with the contractor to carry out a survey and modify the road.
Moroto/Nakapiripirit. Barely five years after its completion, the Moroto-Nakapiripirit Road has developed cracks.
The road that connects the towns of Moroto and Nakapiripirit starts from Moroto town and snakes through Lorengedwat up to Nakapiripirit District.
Government in 2013 contracted a Chinese firm, China Road and Bridge Construction Company, to upgrade and tarmac the 98 kilometre road at a cost of Shs180b and it was completed in 2015.
However, the road has developed deep cracks, creating suspicion from several leaders and road users that the quality of work was substandard.
Currently, the cracks are seen in the areas of Katanga near hotel Africana site, Lokali bridge at the Moroto border with Nakapiripirit and Kamusalaba in Nakapiripirit District.
Mr Patrick Lokol, a driver operating on Moroto-Nakapiripirit route, said the cracks could be an indication of poor workmanship.
Another resident, Mr Nelson Korobe, suspects the road could have got damaged by heavy trucks that transport marble stones from Karamoja to Tororo and Kampala districts.
Call for survey
Mr Francis Kiyonga, the LC5 chairperson Amudat District, said the government should work with the contractor to carry out a survey and modify the road.
“What is disturbing is the road has not been handed over officially and the liability period has not elapsed, so as road users, we need government to trace the contractor to repair the road,” he said.
Several attempts to get a comment from Mr Wang Li, the project manager China Road and Bridge Construction Company were futile.
However, Mr Allan Sempebwa, the Uganda National Roads Authority ’s media relations manager, said a team is investigating the cause of the cracks.
CONSTRUCTION
A source at Unra who spoke on condition of anonymity told this newspaper that the contractor could have used substandard bitumen and applied inadequate asphalt when sealing the road. Bitumen and asphalt are mineral aggregates that are compacted and laid down in layers to smoothen roadways during construction.
